Carzy Zarx’s PC Gaming Emporium - Catch Up on All the Latest PC Gaming Related News

[JEMC]

I hoped that there wouldn't be too many news. I was wrong. So yeah, here's the news, part one of three:

SALES /PLAYER COUNT & DEALS

The Epic Store gives away Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion: https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/turnip-boy-commits-tax-evasion-fb2084.
Next week, they'll give away Golden Light.

GOG has two new sales:

• The first one is the Roll With It Sale, with RPGs and Tabletop inspired games up to 90% off until the 8th of November: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20231101_roll_with_it_sale
• And the Medieval Fantasy Sale also features up to 90% discounts, but it will last 14 days: https://www.gog.com/en/promo/20231102_medieval_fantasy_sale

Steam has one new deal (the other is a weeklong deal): Hero's Hour, that will be 50% off until the 8th of November: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1656780/Heros_Hour/.

There's a new Humble Bundle: the IGN Editor's Choice: The 9 and Above Club, featuring 7 games and two coupons for IGN stuff during the next 20 days: https://www.humblebundle.com/games/ign-editors-choice-9-and-above-club.

Fanatical celebrates its 11th anniversary with the Birthday Bash Sale:

• First of all, you should check the deals from many publishers like Capcom, Ubisoft, Bethesda, etc. from the dedicated Birthday Bash page
• Flash Deals! There are three of them, available during 24 hours:
  • Resident Evil 4, 45% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/resident-evil-4
  • Darksiders III - Deluxe Edition, 80% off: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/darksiders-iii-deluxe-edition
  • SuchArt: Genius Artist Simulator, also an 80% discount: https://www.fanatical.com/en/game/suchart-genius-artist-simulator
• There are new bundles on sale: Star Wars Collection (79% off, 11 days), The Jackbox Quintpack (15%, 13 days), NeuroVoider - Deluxe Edition (63%, 13 days), S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete Bundle (81%, 13 days), Batman: Arkham Collection (88%, 13 days)
• The Platinum Collection BYOB for November has launched with 20 titles to choose for your 3, 5 or 7 games bundle: https://www.fanatical.com/en/pick-and-mix/platinum-collection-build-your-own-bundle
• There will also be contests and gifts for spending a certain amount of money. The contests will be handled by their Twitter/X page and you can learn more about it here: https://www.fanatical.com/en/blog/11-birthday-bash-huge-savings-pc-games-gifts-and-more

SOFTWARE & DRIVERS

INTEL Arc & Iris Graphics 31.0.101.4952
https://videocardz.com/driver/intel-arc-iris-graphics-31-0-101-4952
Highlights

Intel® Game On Driver support on Intel® Arc™ A-series Graphics for:

• The Talos Principle 2
• Robocop: Rogue City
• Star Ocean II R
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III
• Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name

Game performance improvements versus Intel® 31.0.101.4900 software driver for:

• The Talos Principle 2 (DX12)
  • Up to 19% average FPS uplift at 1440p with High settings
• Returnal (DX12)
  • Up to 53% average FPS uplift at 1080p with Epic Ray Tracing settings

>> There are also improvements in other games. Check Yuri's post to find the link.

MODS, EMULATORS & FAN PROJECTS

Bloodborne Kart will be released for free on PC on January 31st
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/bloodborne-kart-free-pc-january-31st/
Lilith Walther has announced that their free kart game for PC, Bloodborne Kart, will be released on PC on January 31, 2024. In order to celebrate this announcement, Walther shared a new gameplay trailer that you can find below.
Bloodborne Kart will feature 12 racers and 16 maps. All maps and racers will be based on environments and characters from Bloodborne. This kart racer will also have a full single-player campaign mode, as well as local split-screen multiplayer and a VS Battle Mode. Oh, and there will be some boss fights in it.
>> The article has a 1:42 trailer.

Half-Life 3 Citadel Unleashed Mod is now available for download
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/half-life-3-citadel-unleashed-mod-is-now-available-for-download/
Ancient Freeman Media has kept its promise and released the Half-Life 3 Citadel Unleashed Mod for PC. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a mod for Half-Life 2 that picks up where Half-Life 2 Episode 4 Eli left off.
In Half-Life 3 Citadel Unleashed, you get to wander through a world filled with cities, desolate areas, and lots more. The folks who made this mod worked really hard to make sure these places are exciting and fit perfectly into the Half-Life world. Or at least that’s what they claim.
In Half-Life 3 Citadel Unleashed, you’ll dive into a brand-new story that’ll test your smarts and make you feel even more connected to the Half-Life world. You’ll meet some new faces who can help you, get in your way, or just make the journey more interesting. Each of these characters has their own cool story to share. Plus, the team added cool new ways to play, awesome weapons, and some puzzles.
>> There's a very long video (over 46 minutes).

Skywind, the Morrowind Remake Mod for Skyrim, gets new in-engine sneak peek trailer
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/skywind-the-morrowind-remake-mod-for-skyrim-gets-new-in-engine-sneak-peek-trailer/
Yesterday, the folks working on the Skywind mod, a project to remake Morrowind in Skyrim, shared a cool sneak peek trailer. This short video gives us a quick look at the updated environments they’re creating for the game. It’s a fun teaser, so make sure to watch it.
Skywind is a free fan-made mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It’s a project that aims to recreate the world of Morrowind with Skyrim’s graphics and features. Not only that but Skywind’s user interface, combat, graphics, and system requirements will be similar to those of Skyrim. So, if you can run Skyrim, you’ll be good to go for Skywind.
>> The trailer is barely over one minute.

This Studio Ghibli stylized teaser for Zelda: Ocarina of Time in Unreal Engine 5 looks insane
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/studio-ghibli-teaser-zelda-ocarina-of-time-unreal-engine-5/
Zelda fans, check this out. RwanLink just dropped a cool teaser trailer for a fan-made Zelda: Ocarina of Time film, and it’s done in the style of Studio Ghibli. He made it using Unreal Engine 5, and it looks absolutely mind-blowing. Don’t miss it; you’ve got to watch it.
In case you didn’t know, RwanLink has made some other cool fan videos of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in Unreal Engine 5. You should definitely check out these videos. So far, the artist has recreated Goron City, Kokiri Forest and Zora’s Domain. They all look fantastic, so be sure to check them out.
What’s super cool about this new teaser trailer is the Studio Ghibli art style. Instead of just making Ocarina of Time look better, the artist went for something totally fresh. And guess what? It totally worked. I know some of you might not be fans of our UE5 articles, but seriously, give this teaser a watch. It’s definitely worth your time.
>> The teaser i a mere 31 second long.

This Red Dead Redemption 2 Mod adds random world events
https://www.dsogaming.com/pc-performance-analyses/this-red-dead-redemption-2-mod-adds-random-world-events/
Modder ‘crossed99’ just dropped a cool new mod for the Red Dead Redemption 2. This mod adds random events to the game to make it feel more dynamic and alive.
Going into more details, this mod adds three types of events. The first event has bounty hunters trying to capture someone. The second event introduces fistfights between two or more people. And then the third and final event adds shootouts between two groups.
The modder says that these events happen totally by chance. So, sometimes the person on the run might escape, or he/she could defeat the bounty hunter. There can also be shootouts between the cops, outlaws, or regular folks. And if you join in, you might become a wanted person, depending on what’s going down.
>> There are no screenshots nor videos.

'No expense spared and not a single corner cut': After 11 months of work, one of Japan's most beloved PS2 games is finally playable in English
https://www.pcgamer.com/no-expense-spared-and-not-a-single-corner-cut-after-11-months-of-work-one-of-japans-most-beloved-ps2-games-is-finally-playable-in-english/
More than 21 years after it was originally released, one of the true holy grails of Japanese-only games has been translated into English. Fan translator Hilltop Works, who previously translated cult favorite Square Enix carPG Racing Lagoon, released an English patch for life sim Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 on Thursday. The trailer above celebrates the release, showing off a two minute slice of the game with English subtitles, UI, and in-game artwork.

GAMING NEWS

The Day Before will now release on December 7th
https://www.dsogaming.com/news/the-day-before-will-now-release-on-december-7th/
Fntastic just announced that its new open-world MMO survival game, The Day Before, is set to launch on December 7th. To make the announcement even more special, the team has also unveiled a new trailer. You can check it out below.

Here are 30 minutes of gameplay from War of the Worlds
https://www.dsogaming.com/videotrailer-news/here-are-30-minutes-of-gameplay-from-war-of-the-worlds/
FlipSwitch Games has shared a video from its upcoming game based on the science fiction novel, The War of the Worlds. This novel became famous in 2005 thanks to a movie from Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Cruise.

Alan Wake 2 Patch 1.0.8 released, packing over 200 improvements
https://www.dsogaming.com/patches/alan-wake-2-patch-1-0-8-released-packing-over-200-improvements/
Remedy has released a brand new update for its latest horror game, Alan Wake 2. Patch 1.0.8 is around 3.5GB in size on PC, and it comes with over 200 improvements and fixes.